Ed Ward

Stone is known to millions from the records he made with Sly and the Family Stone. But his early days, and the recordings he produced for his own Stone Flower label, add another dimension to the career of this enigmatic character, rock historian Ed Ward said.

New Orleans went decades without a homegrown label to document its riches. Rock critic Ed Ward says this explains why many 1950s New Orleans classics were released by Ace Records in Jackson, Miss.

Roy Orbison didn't really find his identity until he signed with a small Nashville label, Monument, in 1959. Ed Ward looks at the 17 singles that put him, and the Monument label, on the map.